LA JOLLA, Calif. – The Cal Poly Pomona volleyball team suffered a 3-0 semifinal loss to Sonoma State on Friday night as the defeat eliminated the Broncos from the first-ever CCAA Tournament and ended the team's season.
 
CPP's record finishes at 17-13 overall. In Friday's match, the Broncos served well as they totaled five aces with Alina Smith contributing two of those.
 
CCAA Freshman of the Year Kristen Hamlin collected a team-high nine kills while Nicoletta Stork and Deanna Blaine added seven each. The Broncos fell by game scores of 20-25, 20-25, 22-25. Sonoma, the conference's regular season champions, entered the match with a No. 17 national ranking.
 
Senior libero Zoe Herrera was one of three Broncos with double-digit dig totals Friday, racking up 18 while Blaine had 12 and Alexandria Bollier tallied 10. Seniors Christen Williams and Alexa Hasen put together impressive performances in blocking, with Williams registering six block assists and Hasen adding five.
 
The Seawolves jumped out to a 9-1 edge in the opening set, before CPP began chipping away at that margin. Blaine provided CPP with its first three kills of the match. Then, Hamlin rattled off three-straight kills to push the Broncos into double digits. A Hasen kill forced a SSU timeout with CPP trailing by only four, 16-12.
 
After the Broncos called a timeout with a deficit of 21-17, CPP rallied for two-straight points that included an ace from Smith. Sonoma finished on a 4-1 run to take the first frame, 25-20.
 
With the two squads trading points early in the second set, Hannah Harrer and Hamlin combined for a block to cut the SSU lead to 11-10. After tying it up at 11, Bollier lined an ace to the back left corner of the court to force a Seawolves' timeout and give CPP a 12-11 edge. After falling behind by a few points, the Broncos rallied to tie it 19-19. SSU closed out strong once again though, using a 6-1 spurt to take the second set 25-20.
 
The Broncos and Seawolves started out even in the third frame, before SSU widened its lead to 18-13. CPP wasn't done though as Hasen delivered a pair of key kills and Andrea Bosnic contributed a block. At one point the Broncos trailed by just one point, 20-19, after a Seawolves' attack error. SSU ended up taking the third and final frame by a score of 25-22.